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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · chair · vault · date · fall · capital

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. capital — a city
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — the month
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. date — the fruit
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com